Bella and the Ninja
by TerraMacMillan
Summary: Nikki Bella has been suffering at the merciless hands of Stephanie McMahon and The Authority for weeks. Seth Rollins knows the feeling and offers to help her, but even with The Shield on her side, Nikki worries that The Billion Dollar Princess will be the end of her. Lucky for her, the architect of The Shield doesn't plan on letting that happen.
1. Chapter One

**Bella and the Ninja**

**Summary: **Nikki Bella has been suffering at the merciless hands of Stephanie McMahon and The Authority for weeks. Seth Rollins knows the feeling and offers to help her, but even with The Shield on her side, Nikki worries that The Billion Dollar Princess will be the end of her. Lucky for her, the architect of The Shield doesn't plan on letting that happen.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything. It sucks.

**A/N: **A fair warning to John Cena haters, if you're looking for any Cena-bashing, look elsewhere. I have nothing against him and I don't plan on beating up on him at all, so be nice. Also, I'm clearly fudging the timeline a bit and The Shield didn't break up. Oh, one more thing: There will be sexy times ahead. If that's not your thing, you have been warned.

(-)

Contrary to popular belief, or perhaps popular desire, Nikki Bella's relationship with John Cena did _not_ end in a burning blow-out akin to a nuclear holocaust. The two of them had just come to realize that, as much as they cared for each other, they didn't love each other anymore. When Nikki pointed it out, John simply sat back in his chair for a moment and mulled it over, "Well, damn…" He had responded. Nikki wasn't disappointed or annoyed by his reaction; it was essentially the same way she had reacted when she figured it out.

In all honesty, it had been a long time coming. They rarely spoke and it was never a comfortable silence, they barely bothered trying to find time to spend together, and even the sex had long since fizzled out both in satisfaction and frequency. Nikki had always known that they wanted different things in life, but she had hoped that they would work something out. No dice, but she wasn't as disappointed as she expected be.

Nikki wanted stability. She was very career focused, but eventually she wanted to settle down and try for a family. John wasn't the 'settling down' type. She was fairly certain that he had been faithful to her but his eye wandered quite a bit and she knew that, if let loose, he would be after any woman he could get his hands on. He was a huge manwhore, but she didn't judge him for it. He had never claimed to be anything but and he was a decent guy, so she couldn't fault him.

It ended with literally nothing more than a kiss on the cheek, a hug, and an affirmation that they would remain friends. She wasn't sure why everyone believed or wanted to believe that they exploded, but she didn't want to dwell on it too much. In fact, she didn't want to dwell too much on anything really. She was too busy trying to prepare for this damn match that Stephanie McMahon forced her in. Yet another fucking handicap match… Nikki Bella verses Alicia Fox, Layla, and Rosa Mendes. God damn it.

Nikki took a deep breath and she made her way through the back halls of the arena, headed towards the match that she would try with all her might to win. John had offered to have her back in case The Authority tried something, but Nikki turned him down. She knew that they wouldn't attack her personally and John wouldn't raise a hand to any of the Diva's, so there was no point.

The trip to the ring was a blur. She couldn't really focus on anything until she was standing in the center of the ring and Alicia Fox's music blared through the arena. _Damn it, Nicole… Focus! _she berated herself. There was no way she could hope to win if she was one hundred percent with it. Alicia came from behind the curtain with Layla and Rosa right behind and Nikki had to force the bile down in her throat. Those three made her sick; she had never met three bigger brownnosers in her life. In recent weeks they had been swarming around The Authority like flies around a pile of horse shit, trying to gain their favor and reap any benefits they could from being willing lackeys. Nikki was also pretty sure that Alicia was sleeping with Kane or, at the very least, blowing him in Stephanie's office.

Nikki scowled as the referee, Scott, tried to shoo two of the women from the ring. All three were looking at her as if they were starving hyenas and she was a prized steak. None of them seemed to want to leave the ring so that the match could start. Eventually, though, Layla and Alicia left, leaving Nikki to start out with Rosa.

Or, at least, that's what she thought.

The moment she and Rosa locked arms, Layla and Alicia shot back in the ring and dragged Nikki away by her hair, throwing her down into the mat. Nikki tried to shield herself from their stomping feet, but they were relentless. Scott tried to call the three wildcats off, but Nikki knew that it was no use. Stephanie had probably instructed them to continue their onslaught until they felt that Nikki had received the message.

Eventually, Scott had no choice but to stop the match. Nikki vaguely heard the bell ring and Justin Roberts announce, "The winner of this match, Nikki Bella!" Nikki didn't feel much like a winner, mostly because she was still being stomped on. She tried to reach a hand out to grab the nearest foot to her face, but she only succeeded in getting kicked in the arm.

In the end it took multiple referees and backstage officials to pull the girls off of Nikki. She couldn't move. All she could do was lay there until several officials that she didn't fully recognize at the moment pulled her to her feet and assisted her backstage to the medic. She sat stoically as the medic shined his small flashlight into her eyes and checked her over. She inhaled and exhaled, lifted her limbs, and answered his questions as instructed, but her body was completely on autopilot.

"You're going to be sore for a couple of days, but you're in the clear," He told her, "Just take it easy, if you can."

"If I can…" Nikki replied, sighing tiredly, "Thanks, Doc."

He, like the majority of the people employed by the WWE, was very sympathetic to Nikki. She didn't deserve Stephanie's treatment of her. Also like the majority of people employed by the WWE, however, he was an admitted coward who was too scared to speak up for fear of ending up like Brad Maddox. Taking a deep breath, he mustered what little courage he had in his pathetic little body and said, "I'm ordering five days of rest for you. Light workouts and training are permissible if you're feeling up to it, but no earlier than the third day." Was five days excessive? Yes, but it ever so slightly eased the guilt in his soul.

"Five days?" Nikki asked, baffled.

"Five days," He replied calmly, forcing himself to stay resolute. He refused to falter; she needed this, she deserved it, and fuck The Authority if they said any different. His opinion as a medical official held a lot of weight and if they tried to force Nikki back into the ring before he said she was ready, they would catch some serious flack from the upper rung of WWE Corporate. The rest of the medical team would back him up, as well, if the Authority forced any of them to give Nikki a physical in order to bring her back sooner. They felt just as guilty as he did, "And the rest of the night. Go back to your hotel, Nikki, and get some rest. Start your five days tomorrow."

"Thanks…" Nikki said hesitantly. She was incredibly grateful, but also incredibly confused. _Don't question it, Nicole; just get the hell out of here!_ She berated herself. With a gentle smile, Nikki stood up from the examination table and left. Despite her aching body, Nikki returned to the Diva's locker room as quickly as she could and changed. She didn't bother to shower; that could be done when she was safe in her hotel room.

The locker room was mercifully empty, except for Nattie and Paige. Nattie gave Nikki a quick hug before running off to her match against AJ. She had rarely spoken to Paige, but that wasn't shocking given that Paige rarely spoke to anyone besides Emma. Though, Nikki had noted that she was quite chatty with Bayley as well, when the excitable NXT Diva managed to visit. While Paige seemed nice enough, it still shocked Nikki that she could be so seemingly close to two exuberant personalities like Emma and Bayley.

"Nikki?" Nikki turned towards Paige, wide-eyed. Paige was talking to her? "Look… What The Authority is doing to you… It's absolutely wretched. I know we don't know each other very well, but… If you want partner for one of those stupid matches, let me know." Paige was visibly uncomfortable under Nikki's shocked, silent, blinking gaze, "Right…" Paige said, "Have a good night."

"Wait!" Nikki called out before Paige managed to leave the locker room entirely, "I'm sorry. I'm out of it. Thank you, Paige. I appreciate the thought."

"You're welcome." Paige replied, much more comfortable now, "See you later."

Nikki waved as Paige left, sighing and running her hand through her hair. Paige wasn't the first person to offer help. Naomi, Nattie, and Emma had done so as well. Every time, she replied the same. _Thank you. I appreciate the thought. _And, while she was sincere, Nikki would unlikely take any of them up on it. She didn't want to put any of them in The Authority's sightlines. She would never forgive herself if her friends got hurt because of her.

Groaning, Nikki grabbed her bag and bolted from the locker room before anyone else came in. She was almost home free. All she had to do was make it to the parking lot and grab a cab and she would be safe. Turning a corner to the last stretch of hallway leading to the parking lot, Nikki's breath was knocked out of her when she collided with a very solid object. A very solid _human, _to be precise_. _

"Shit," The voice attached to the body said, "Nikki, are you okay?"

"Great job, Rollins," Another voice –Dean Ambrose's, Nikki was able to determine through her haze- admonished, "You nearly knocked her into a wall."

"I did not!" The first voice replied, clearly annoyed.

"Nope," Nikki said, finally catching her breath, "That's all on me, actually. My bad." Looking up, she locked eyes with a clearly worried Seth Rollins, "Um… Sorry…"

"You alright?" Roman Reigns cut in before Seth could respond, "That was a pretty brutal match you had. If, you know, you could call it a match."

Nikki chuckled bitterly, "I'm alive, so that's something. Medical gave me a few days off to recuperate and sent me away for the night."

"Are you headed back to the hotel?" Seth asked. Nikki nodded, "You can bum a ride with us if you want. We're headed back there too."

"Don't you have to be here until the end of the night?" Nikki asked. The three members of The Shield shook their heads, "And you're going back to the hotel? I figured you boys would want to get your party on." She smirked.

"There's always time to party, baby girl," Roman replied with a seductive smirk… But… Nikki was pretty sure he didn't know he was being seductive. In fact, that was just his face. Intentionally or not, Roman Reigns turned most people into turned-on piles of mush, "But for now, we're headed back and you're welcome to come with us."

Nikki bit her lip. She didn't want to impose, but she really didn't want to have to deal with finding and paying for a cab. Finally, with a small smile, she replied, "Sounds great. Thanks, guys."

(-)

Her two glorious workout-and-training-free days were coming to a close and Nikki hadn't felt so relaxed in ages. She would be slowly getting back into the swing of things the next day, but until then she was content enjoying a glass of wine and a bubble bath in the privacy of her hotel room. She had several visitors over the last two days, but she had mostly been alone. It wasn't surprising. Everyone still had workouts and training and house shows; it was nice to get away from the craziness that was working for the WWE for a while. Surprisingly, she hadn't even heard from Stephanie McMahon. Good. The Billion Dollar Bitch's raspy voice was the last thing she needed to hear.

Finishing her glass of wine, Nikki ascended from the bubbles and began draining the tub. Rinsing away the bubbles that had stuck to the inside of the tub and her body, she thought hard about the past two days. Three people she'd seen a ridiculous amount of given their crazy schedules were Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns. They'd come to check on her several times and offered to take her to lunch once. It was very strange. Even after they turned on The Authority, she didn't associate with them much. No one did. They mostly stuck to themselves.

She'd mentioned their kindness to Brie and Daniel when she Skyped with them earlier that night and it was very clear that Daniel was not happy with the situation. She didn't blame him; The Shield had roughed him up quite a bit under The Authorities orders. Brie probably had just as many reservations as her husband, but was better at hiding them. And maybe they were right. Maybe she shouldn't trust The Shield, but she did and if it came back to bite her in the ass... Well, things couldn't get much worse than they already were, so she didn't have anything to worry about anyway.

Bringing her attention back to the present, Nikki toweled off, put on a clean bra and pair of panties, and wrapped herself in one of the hotel's ridiculously soft cotton bathrobes. She could definitely get used to this not-getting-attacked-every-night-of-the-week thing. As much as she hated to admit it, Nikki was close to throwing in the towel. She loved wrestling, but that could only keep her around for so long. Honestly, that wasn't even why she stuck around anymore. She had to be there for Brie. Someone had to stick up for her sister and if she left, no one would.

Groaning, Nikki collapsed onto the hotel bed and curled into a ball. All she wanted to do was fall asleep and forget about everything for a while. Apparently the universe had other ideas, however, because as soon as she closed her eyes, a knock on the door sounded through the room, "Motherfu…" Nikki whimpered as she forced herself off of the bed and to the door.

Sending a death glare through the peephole, Nikki was ready to shred whoever was on the other side of the door to pieces. To her surprise, however, it was none other than Seth Rollins, "The fuck?" Nikki asked under her breath as she unlatched the lock and opened the door, "Rollins? What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to check and see how you were."

Nikki smirked, "Rollins… You, Reigns, and Ambrose have checked up on me, like, four thousand times since Raw. That was two days ago."

Seth chuckled, "Okay… Maybe we've gone a little bit overboard."

"You think?" Nikki asked with a good-natured smile.

"And…" Seth continued, clearly wondering if he should be, "Admittedly, it is mostly my fault."

"What do you mean?" Nikki asked, awkwardly confused.

Seth sighed and ran his hand through his two-toned hair, "Look, Nikki… Can I come in? This isn't something I really want to talk about in public." Utterly mystified, with her eyebrows damn near passed her hairline, Nikki nodded. Seth look incredibly relieved as she allowed him passed her.

As Seth paced, Nikki found herself getting anxious, "Rollins, what the hell is this about?"

"Look," Seth said, "Roman and Dean… They wanted to make sure you were okay, but all the visits, lunch… That was my idea."

"Why?" Nikki asked.

"Because I get what you're going through," Seth said, not entirely sure how to explain, "I know what it's like to have The Authority jerk you around."

"Of course you do," Nikki agreed, "All three of you do. Daniel does. A lot of people know how awful The Authority can be when they decide they don't like you."

Seth shook his head, "It's different…" Nikki opened her mouth to speak, but Seth stopped her, "Just… Promise me, Nikki. Don't let them turn you against Brie. Don't blame her for everything that's happening."

It took a moment for Nikki to stop sputtering long enough to form a coherent sentence, but when she finally managed it, she was outraged, "WHAT?! I would never let them come between me and my sister. There is no way in hell I would blame her for what they're doing."

"You say that and I know you mean it," Seth acquiesced, "but they have this way of getting into your head. Making you think things you normally wouldn't; questioning things that you would never question…" He trailed off.

Nikki stared at him for a moment, taking in his frazzled express, his ragged breathing, and the terrified look in his eye, "You sound like you know from experience." Seth didn't need to reply. The visible gulp in his throat said enough, "What did they say to you? What did they want you to do?"

Seth took a deep breath, "They wanted me to turn on Roman and Dean. They wanted me to join The Authority." He clutched his head in his hands, "From the time we walked away from them, they were after me. Telling me I could be the best and that The Shield was holding me back. I kept saying no, but they just kept coming. They saw me as the weak link in The Shield; the one that would break easiest. Do you know what that does to someone, Nikki?" He asked frenzied, "Do you know what it does to you when you realize that the people you hate think _you're _the weak link? _You're _the one most likely to turn on the people you care about more than anything?" Nikki tried to shake her head 'no', but it came out more as a shutter, "And they were getting to me. Whenever tensions got high or a plan went wrong, I would think that… And all the things they offered…"

Seth was stuck in his own head and Nikki could see the self-loathing in his eyes. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently in support. He seemed to calm down ever so slightly at the contact, "What did they offer you?" She asked.

"Money in the Bank," Seth replied stoically, "A guaranteed chance to be at the very top of the WWE. The thing I've worked towards for more than a decade…"

"It's an enticing offer," Nikki responded, hoping she sounded as understanding as she was trying to be. Most WWE superstars would kill for Money in the Bank; she didn't want to hold something he didn't do against him, "What changed your mind?"

Seth swallowed hard, "I was… Uh… Dean and I were spending a couple of days with Roman at his place. He has a kid, you know."

Nikki nodded, "I saw that ridiculously cute PSA."

A singular laugh escaped Seth's throat, "Yeah… Jojo's pretty awesome." He smiled at the thought, but Nikki couldn't help but think she saw a gleam of envy in his eyes, "Anyway…" He tried to shake the thought from his head, "Rom had a couple of family things to handle, or… I think they were family things… I didn't really ask. Anyway, he asked me and Dean to watch Jojo…"

"Dean Ambrose watching a child?" Nikki asked in mock-horror.

"I was there too!" Seth joked back.

"Even worse!"

Seth's eyes became slits as he glared at her. Nikki merely smiled sweetly until he rolled his eyes and shook his head. She was funny; he liked it, "Anyway, Dean and I were watching Jojo and somewhere in between playing doctor and Jojo forcing Dean to wear a pink, sequined feather boa," Nikki snorted at the mental image, "Yeah… It was pretty great. But, somewhere in there, I realized that it wasn't just Dean and Roman I would be losing. I would lose _literally_ everything I've gained in the past few years. A guaranteed title shot just isn't worth it. I'll get there eventually, but I'll do it with my family beside me."

"That's really, really awesome of you, Seth." She said, neither of them missing the fact that it was the first time she'd ever used his first name while addressing him.

Shrugging, Seth continued, "That's why, after we took Batista out of commission, I got the worst of the matches they kept putting us in." Nikki gaped. She knew that The Authority were bitter about losing Batista. The Shield had given him quite the knee injury and, after deciding that The Authority and Evolution weren't worth it, he had hung up his boots and left for good. After that, The Authority forced The Shield into brutal matches. Ladder matches, falls count anywhere, stretcher matches, cage matches, handicap matches, lumberjack matches… Anything that they could vindictively think of, with the one stipulation being every match involved only one member of The Shield at a time and the others were banned from ringside. Now that she thought about it, Seth was right. He had gotten the worst of it. Dean and Roman had it bad, but Seth had been bloodied after every match. Nikki didn't know how she hadn't seen it before.

"God… That's… indescribably awful… Thank you for telling me all of this."

Seth nodded, "Please don't let Roman or Dean know. I told them from the beginning that The Authority was hounding me, and obviously they knew that I was getting roughed up the most, but they don't know why they targeted me or that I started to think…"

"Your secret is safe with me." Nikki assured him. He smiled thankfully at her, his eyes damn near glowing with relief; it was only then that they realized how close they had become. Their breaths caught in their throats as their eyes locked. _Has he always been this gorgeous? _Nikki somehow asked herself through her transfixed state.

Without hesitation, Seth leaned over and gently placed his lips on hers. Nikki didn't protest. The thought never even entered her mind. She was acutely aware of the way Seth wrapped his arms around and deepened the kiss. She reciprocated and wound her arms around his shoulders, her hands gripping tightly around the rippling muscles. The moan that escaped his mouth and the way his hands roamed down her body damn near took her over the edge on their own. Her brain was fuzzy and she couldn't see straight. When was the last time she'd been this turned on?

If she really cared to think about it, which she didn't because the way that Seth was gripping her thighs and the fact that he somehow now had her against a wall and was kissing her neck were much more important, Nikki would have openly admitted that it was within the first three months of her relationship with John. Despite being together for a while, they had begun to lose the spark quite early.

_Oh god… _Nikki's brain screamed as Seth's hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her legs up around his waist. She moaned as he kissed into her ample cleavage, "Seth…" She practically whimpered, "Holy fuck…" He covered her mouth with his and carried her to the bed. Laying her down gently, he tugged lightly on the belt of the robe. The loose knot she had tied in it came undone and the fabric fell open to reveal her simple, black undergarments.

As simple as they were, the sight of them caused the burning embers of desire in the pit of his stomach to explode into a full blown flame, "Nikki…" He groaned, pained by his yearning for her. Nikki could hardly believe a person could say her name with such passion.

Quick as a flash, Seth had removed his shirt and Nikki was face to chest with his perfect torso. Of its own accord, her body shuttered at the sight. It wasn't as if she had never seen him without a shirt on, but never this close and certainly never in this situation. She had never fully appreciated the sculpt of his abs or the perfect proportion of his pectorals. Without thinking, Nikki leaned up and kissed his lips while her fingers drew lustful circles over every inch of his torso that she could reach.

Seth's fingers slid downwards to cup her through the thin fabric of her panties. The cocky side of him took great pride in the wetness he felt. Of course, he wasn't fairing any differently. His pants were uncomfortably tight as his dick begged for escape. The affect that this woman had on him was extreme; the result of many nights rubbing it out to her photo shoots and matches. Very little turned him on like seeing Nikki finish off an opponent with a _Bella Buster_ or a _Nikki Rack Attack_. Did he have the hots for Nikki Bella? Absolutely, but who wouldn't? _Just look at her! She's fucking gorgeous!_ His brain often shouted at him.

As Nikki kissed him, Seth made quick work of the rest of their clothes. Nikki moaned as he pressed his naked body against hers, holding her close as he shifted them under the premium comforter into the ostentatiously high tread count Egyptian cotton sheets. His fingers moved back to her now-bare nether region, gently massaging the soft folds back and forth. A guttural moan caught in Nikki's throat as one of his large fingers slipped carefully inside of her and beckoned her with come hither motions. Nikki's nails clamped down of their own accord onto his shoulder blades. Seth hissed in pain, but quickly covered it up. He didn't want to pull Nikki out of her pleasure-induced trance. He could handle a little unexpected pain. The prospect of having Nikki was more than enticing enough to get him through it.

"You're so… fucking… amazing," Seth panted as he extracted his fingers and slid fully on top of her. Nikki couldn't make herself reply as Seth lifted one of her legs and hitched it over his hip. He kissed her deeply, his tongue invading her mouth, as he entered her with one quick stroke. A gasp escaped would have escaped her mouth as he circled his hips, if it weren't for the fact that his tongue was still occupying it.

Nikki wrapped her arms around him as he increased his speed. His trusts were deep and hard, full of passion and lust. It was as if he knew exactly what to do, which of her buttons to push and when. How did he know that? It didn't matter how. All she could focus on was the shockwaves of pleasure that radiated all over her and the devilish intentions he was huskily whispering in her ear.

"You like that?" He breathed, "Tell me you like it, baby." He took her heated gasps and clenching hands as a positive, though he would be lying if he said he wasn't moderately disappointed in her lack of actual speech, "Tell me what you want." He urged. It took a moment for Nikki to get her head about her enough to comply. She softly murmured in his ear all manner of dirty things that sent his blood boiling. But, as with her medical inspection those short days ago, she was on autopilot. She didn't fully understand what she was saying; all she could focus on was Seth as he followed her instructions and brought her to her tipping point. At last, with two deep strokes, Nikki's body convulsed and she screamed in release.

Seth quickly followed and had to force himself to stay up so that he didn't collapse directly on top of her. Rolling off, Seth stared bleary eyed at Nikki for a few moments. She was breathing heavily and her eyelids were fluttering. After several seconds, they closed. Seth wasn't sure what to make of that; had she enjoyed herself and was fatigued from the exertion? Had she not and was feigning sleep to avoid the subject? He, personally, was too exhausted to think too much on it. Pressing a quick kiss to her temple, Seth laid his head down next to hers and closed his own eyes. Within minutes, he too was asleep, completely lost to the world.


	2. Chapter Two

**Bella and the Ninja**

**Summary: **Nikki Bella has been suffering at the merciless hands of Stephanie McMahon and The Authority for weeks. Seth Rollins knows the feeling and offers to help her, but even with The Shield on her side, Nikki worries that The Billion Dollar Princess will be the end of her. The architect of The Shield doesn't plan on letting that happen.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything. It sucks.

**A/N: **Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god… So many people to thank! I don't think any of my other stories that weren't sequels had this many reviews on the first chapter. Thank you so much _ramenreignss, Sammie94, clarembees, asherandjeanclaude, Shaq Gaddy, Guest, xgirl67, brittany08forever, AshJovillette, _and_ flowersNfreaks_! Seriously, you guys make my life. I love you all! Also, a reminder, I'm messing around a lot with the time line here. This is obviously heavily inspired by the current storyline, but don't expect it to follow too much. I've got plenty of mayhem of my own to cause!

(-)

As her consciousness returned, Nikki refused to open her eyes. She forced herself to be a stiff as a board and tried to breath as little as possible. Part of her brain insisted that there was no way that the night before had occurred; that she was alone in this bed and that there was nothing to worry about. The larger part of her brain told her that of course it had happened and she had no choice but to put on her big girl undies and deal with it. Taking a determined breath, Nikki slowly blinked her eyes open. Careful not to make any jarring movements, she turned her head to her right and came face to face with a sleeping Seth Rollins.

_God damn it…_ Nikki mentally cursed. Of course the larger part of her brain had been right. She knew it had been, but that didn't stop her from hoping that it wouldn't be. Cautiously, and with unintentionally over-exaggerated movements, Nikki crept from the bed and into the bathroom, snatching up her discarded underwear and robe on the way.

Once she was safely in the bathroom with the door closed, Nikki looked herself over in the mirror. The first thing she noticed, much to her chagrin, was the fact that she was practically fucking _glowing. _The dark circles and stress lines from the weeks of attacks by The Authority were virtually gone and her skin was luminous. As much as she wanted to give credit to her days off, she knew that she hadn't looked nearly as relaxed before Seth showed up at her door the night before.

And why wouldn't she be glowing? The way he kissed her, touched her, and taken her over the edge of pleasure in a way that she hadn't been in ages… Her body shuttered at the thought. Her eyes fluttered uncontrollably as she reminisced about the circling of his hips sending tremors of ecstasy through her body and his husky voice whispering seductively in her ear. The arousal that she had felt so completely the night before was returning and a moan of desire escaped her mouth.

The logical part of her brain took over and, without thinking, Nikki raised her hand and slapped herself across the face, _Focus Nicole! _Her brain admonished. Holy shit, she was getting turned on again just thinking about it… _Fuck… _She moaned internally. Shaking her head, Nikki forced herself to continue her self-assessment. There were three obvious hickeys on her breasts. _When did that happen? _She asked herself. Probably when he had her against the wall or right when he'd gotten her to the bed, but he had seemed rather infatuated with them, so it could have been any time really. Sighing, Nikki pulled on her underwear and the robe. Luckily the bra was full coverage, as were most of her sports bras, so it would be easy to cover the hickeys for the time being. If need be, she could cover them with make up once she was back in her ring gear, but she hoped they would be faded enough by then that she wouldn't have to.

With one final look over that yielded nothing out of the ordinary, Nikki wrapped the robe around her and tied the belt tightly over her waist. Leaning against the counter, Nikki thought about the best way to approach the problem that was sleeping in her bed. She couldn't just leave the room. First of all, it was _her _room. Second of all, running away would solve nothing. She would see him nearly every day. It would be best to just hash everything out sooner rather than later.

_Fucking SHIT! _Her brain screamed as she remembered one minor detail that they had overlooked the night before. And by 'minor,' she meant _fucking huge! _Seth hadn't worn protection; he hadn't offered to and she'd been too turned on to insist, "God damn it…" She groaned out loud, running her hand through her hair. She was taking birth control, thank God, despite not having been with anyone since she and John ended their relationship, and she couldn't imagine Seth Rollins as an STD riddled whore who deliberately wouldn't use protection. Seriously, as tough as he was, the man was a giant puppy_._ All of those pictures of him with that Yorkie of his were proof enough of that. There was no way he would intentionally put a partner at risk if he had anything. Nikki couldn't even fathom that.

_He probably didn't have any on him because he hadn't planned on…_ Nikki trailed off, forcing herself not to think "fucking me into the mattress like a sex god." Why did she have such strong emotions where Seth Rollins was concerned? She barely knew the guy, yet she was strangely adamant about his character. Perhaps it was merely that she was still reeling from the Earth-shattering sex. No other man, not even John, had gotten her off the first time. Everything about him, from the way he spoke to what he did with his hands to the speed and rhythm that he had thrust into her; it was smooth and deliberate and utterly amazing, none of that _Sex and the City _jackrabbit bullshit. He had implored her, urging her to tell him how he could please her. She didn't even remember speaking to him, but she knew exactly what she had said thanks to his meticulous fulfillment with her desires.

Damn it, she was getting aroused again. Forcing herself out of her reverie, Nikki turned and jerked the cold water handle to the full 'on' position. With a huff, she closed the drain and waited until the water almost completely filled the sink. When it finally reached an appropriate depth, Nikki moved the handle back to 'off' and promptly plunged her face into the icy water.

Back in the bed, Seth was finally stirring. Eyes still closed, he gently reached over and felt for Nikki. His eyes shot open when he found nothing. _Fuck! _He moaned to himself, _She bolted… _He looked around for any sign of her, but there was nothing. Frustrated, he groaned as he jumped out of the bed pulled on the boxer briefs and jeans he'd been wearing the night before. It was then that his sights fell on the closed bathroom door and he heaved a sigh of relief. That had been open the night before, he knew it had. She hadn't bolted after all.

With a smile on his face, Seth walked over and knocked gently on the door, "Nikki?" He asked. No replied. He frowned, knocking again, "Nikki?" Still no response. Carefully, Seth opened the door and peeked in. There was Nikki standing over the sink, her face submerged in water, "Um… Nikki?" He asked, louder this time.

Nikki shot upward out of the water, "Oh… Seth…" She said, "Morning…"

"Morning." He responded, looking confusedly from her to the sink, "Um…" He walked over and placed his hand in the cold water, "That's freezing… What were you doing?"

In a failed attempt to look nonchalant, Nikki leaned against the counter and said, "Oh, you know… Just a beauty… regimen… thing…" _Seriously, woman, that's the best you can come up with?! _She shouted at herself.

Seth chuckled, "Well, I don't really think you need it." He responded shyly, though he was obviously trying (and, like Nikki, utterly failing) to portray confidence.

_Motherfucker…_ Nikki's internal voice protested. How could she think properly when he was being so ridiculously super sweet and adorable? Where was the man she detested for making her brother-in-law's life a living hell? She could have handled that so much better, "Uh… So… About last night…" She trailed off.

The hesitancy in her voice was incredibly disappointing, and admittedly worrisome, for Seth. He carefully looked her over, taking in her flushed cheeks, the way her eyes couldn't stay on him -much less meet his- for longer than a second, and how her arms were crossed across her chest as she turned her body away from him, "Nikki… Did I… I mean, I know this wasn't planned…" He felt the blood rush from his face when horrible, horrible thought entered his mind, "Oh, shit. This isn't one of those situations… I mean, you don't feel violated do you?" Nikki furrowed her eyebrows, confused, but Seth didn't seem to notice. He was too busy freaking out, "I know I didn't actually ask," He conceded, "And I should have…" Nikki lost him there, because after that he was relegated to babbling about how he would never intentionally try to hurt her and that he was sorry if she felt uncomfortable.

"Seth… Seth… Seth!" She snapped, not because she was mad at him, but because he seemed so far in his own head that he couldn't process anything else, rather like the night before when he agonized over The Authority's attempt to turn him against his brothers, "I don't… I don't feel violated." She said and he let out a breath of relief that he hadn't been aware he'd been holding, "I mean, yes regarding the consent thing. For the future, you should really keep that in mind…"

"For the future?" Seth asked, trying to hide his shock.

"You plan on having sex again in your life, correct?" Seth just nodded. Of course, she meant in general; not just in regards to the two of them. That made more sense, as much as he hated to admit it, "I just… We barely know each other. I don't make a habit of sleeping with people I don't know very well."

She had him there, Seth had to admit. Truth be told, he didn't either. He'd had the occasional one night stand in his time, several in the past year and a half since he and his former fiancée ended their engagement because of the strain his work schedule put on their relationship, but he'd never been satisfied on anything other than a physical level (and not even on that level most of the time). It wasn't really his thing; he liked physicality as much as the next guy, but unlike some people, it didn't sustain him for long. Sighing, Seth ran his hand through his two-toned hair, "Look Nikki… I didn't come here last night to… What I came here to do, was to offer you help."

"What do you mean?" Nikki asked.

"Roman, Dean, and I we're talking and we agreed. You don't deserve what's happening to you and Stephanie McMahon has you as at a disadvantage. We know that some of the Divas have offered you help in your matches and you've turned them down."

"I don't want The Authority to punish any of them for helping me," Nikki said defensively.

Seth held his hands up in a surrendering motion, "I get it. No need to explain it to me. But it's not just the unfair matches. How long do you think it will be before they start sending their other watchdogs after you?" Nikki tried to protest, but words failed her, "And you know what I'm talking about, Nikki. It's not unheard of for Kane to put his hands on a woman. Or Orton, for that matter. Jesus Christ, he RKO'd Stacy Keibler in the middle of the ring after kissing her! You're not safe alone and you can't take Stephanie on by yourself. And before you say anything, you know well enough that Cena's got enough on his plate with Lesnar. He can't help you either, even if he wants to. The Authority already hates The Shield. We can help and we're not putting ourselves in anymore danger than we're already in. If you refuse to let your friends help, let us help. Please."

Nikki sighed. She actually hadn't really considered Orton or Kane, but it made sense. It was only a matter of time until Stephanie got bored with sicking Alicia, Layla, and Rosa on her, "I just don't know, Seth…"

Seth sighed. He should have known it would be hard to convince her; it certainly didn't help matters that they had just woken up from an unplanned night of hardcore screwing, "Just think about it. Please." He kept saying please in such an anxious voice and it was getting really hard for Nikki to turn him down. It was as if he wanted nothing more than to help her. Why did he care?!

"Fine…" Nikki conceded, "I will think about it."

"Thank you." Seth replied, grateful that she was willing to allow that much. If there was one thing he knew about Nikki Bella, it was that she was a stubborn minx when she wanted to be. If she was willing to give an inch, he might be able to convince her to take the whole mile, "Just a sec." He raced out of the bathroom and frantically searched for a pen and paper. Finding what he was searching for, he scribbled his cell phone number on the scrap, groaning when he realized it would be illegible to anyone but himself. Rolling his eyes at himself, Seth more carefully printed his number on the paper and returned to the bathroom, "Here's my number. Call me when you've made up your mind."

Sighing, and with an ever so subtle grin if Seth was not mistaken, Nikki took the paper from his hand, "Okay. I'll get back to you."

"Thank you." Seth replied with a smile, "I'll, um… I'll see you around."

"Yeah." Nikki answered, her small grin still gracing her face, "See you around."

Resisting the urge to kiss her on the cheek, Seth left the bathroom and quickly retrieved the remainder of his clothes. Pulling on his shirt, he exited the room without another goodbye to Nikki, despite the fact that he _really _wanted to give her one. Shoes and socks in hand, Seth hoped beyond all hope that Dean and Roman were still passed out drunk from their foray into the local bar scene the night before.

(-)

"Where the fuck is Seth?" Dean asked impatiently as he lounged on the couch in the room he shared with his Shield brethren and nursed an ice cold sports drink that Roman had shoved in his hand. He'd wanted another beer or maybe a Bloody Mary if he felt fancy, but Roman had insisted that the whole "hair of the dog that bit you" thing was horseshit and that the sports drink would help alleviate his hangover faster and better. Bastard.

"How the hell should I know?" Roman asked, holding a towel tightly around his waist as he searched his belongings, "Probably still with which ever random he left the bar with last night. Where the hell are my clean clothes?" He questioned, frustrated, as he continued to search his bags hurriedly.

Grumbling slightly as the water from Roman's hair splattered on him, Dean countered in a tone that sounded eerily like Roman's mother, "Did you forget to do your laundry again?"

A pillow from across the room hit Dean square in the face as Roman replied, "Smart ass. No, I did not."

_Oh, he wants to play rough?_ Dean asked himself, grumbling. With a devilish smirk, Dean sat up casually and waited until Roman stalked passed him in his search for clothes. When his friend and brother was within arm's length, Dean shot up, snatched the towel from Roman's grasp, and whipped the larger man across his bare Samoan backside as hard as he could.

"Son of a bitch!" Roman roared, advancing on Dean as he attempted to retrieve the towel.

Dean, unfortunately for Roman, was a slippery motherfucker and eluded the larger man fairly easily despite his hangover, "Oohhhh… Come and get it!" He goaded.

"Get over here, Ambrose!" Roman screamed, chasing the lunatic around the room.

Dean was cackling like an idiot as Roman hunted him, fuming. Neither noticed the door open or Seth walk in. The architect of The Shield watched dumbfounded as a naked Roman Reigns attempted to yank the towel away from a maniacal Dean Ambrose. At long last successful in his pursuit, Roman rewrapped the towel around his waist and finally noticed Seth standing wide-eyed across the room.

"Oh, hey Seth," Dean said, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. Admittedly, where his brothers were concerned, there was very little that could shock Seth. This, however… Was not one of those times.

"Um… Do you guys have something you want to tell me?" He asked, "Should I leave?"

"No, you idiot." Roman replied cantankerously, "Dean was just being a jackass. Have you seen my clothes?"

"You probably shoved them under the bed." Seth replied. He knew they must have gotten in late and last he saw Roman's shit was in the middle of the room as always. More than likely, he'd kicked the bags out of the way while stumbling around drunk and they'd ended up under the bed or behind the chair in the corner, "Or behind that chair." He added, indicating said chair.

Roman searched where Seth suggested and soon found his bag of clean clothes. Feeling momentarily like an idiot, he grabbed what he needed and stalked to the bathroom to change. Seth sighed, collapsing on the couch, "Where the hell'd you disappear to last night?" Dean asked, plopping down next to Seth.

"I had a couple of things to do." Seth replied, not wanting to let Dean and Roman know that he'd already spoken to Nikki about their plan for a partnership. They'd just bug the shit out of him for it.

"You find a hottie at the bar last night?" Dean asked with a leering grin.

Seth chuckled, "No. I did not."

"Wait…" Roman said, reemerging fully clothed from the bathroom, "You didn't leave with a girl?" Seth shook his head, "Then where the hell were you?"

Groaning internally, Seth tried to devise the best way to deal with this line of questioning. Dean and Roman wouldn't just leave it alone, neither was the kind of person. He sighed, knowing that the only thing he could do was tell the truth, "I went to see Nikki. To offer help."

"You did that last night?" Roman asked, baffled, "Why not wait until today? Yeah, she's still got time off, but the likelihood of us not seeing her sometime today, given the fact that you're practically stalking her, is very low."

"I am _not _stalking her." Seth shot back. The last thing he needed at that point was to start feeling like a creepy douchebag who wouldn't stop following her around.

Dean, having been watching Seth through narrowed eyes, leaned forward so that he was six inches from Seth's face and asked seriously, "Did you hit that?"

Horrified, even though he should have expected the question, Seth exclaimed, "What the hell, Ambrose?!"

"Well, did you?" He asked again, as if it were a perfectly acceptable question to ask. Seth sputtered, not sure how to respond. The lunatic fringe was impatient, however, and -as Seth struggled to find the right words- Dean launched over and pulled Seth forward, wrenching his shirt over his head, "Scratches!" Dean exclaimed, indicating Seth's back to Roman, "I see scratches. And he wasn't going to tell us…" The look on his face was that of a petulant child who had nearly been denied his favorite treat.

"Get the hell off of me!" Seth demanded, yanking himself from Dean's grip and launching himself away from the couch.

Roman raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms as he sat down on his bed, "So you did sleep with her."

Groaning, Seth said, "It wasn't planned… It just sort of happened…"

"Please tell me you at least wrapped it up." Roman continued. He was a father, yes, but the feeling that Seth and Dean gave him –that of fathering two demonic toddlers and two horny teenagers simultaneously– was damn near more than he'd bargained for. If he'd ever voiced this to either of them, however, they would have told him to shut the fuck up because he was just as bad as they were.

Seth had to think for a moment, "Aw, shit…" He proclaimed under his breath, "I didn't have one on me and I didn't think to…"

"Wait… You didn't have one on you?" Dean asked, confused, "But we went out, how did you not have one on you?"

"Because unlike you, you whore, I didn't go with the intention of hooking up." Dean mumbled something along the lines of 'rude…" under his breath, but he wasn't offended. Seth and Roman calling him a whore was about as common as them calling him by his name. What could he say? He loved the company of beautiful women. Seth continued, "Speaking of which, what are you doing here? You normally don't pour yourself into bed until around noon after a hook up."

Dean rolled his eyes in Roman's direction, "Mommy here said I was too drunk to leave with the lady I was wooing."

"You'd have ended up puking on her, if you were able to get it up at all." Roman shot back, "Trust me, I did both of you a favor."

"Hey, I can get it up no matter how drunk I am…" Dean retorted bitterly.

"And back to the topic at hand…" Seth cut in before Roman went on a rant about how they did not need the WWE bitching to them about stories of their drunken escapades circulating to the media, "I went to talk to her. Yes, we slept together. No, it was not planned. I just went to talk to her."

"What did she say, then?" Roman asked, wanting to move on from the subject for the moment but fully planning on continuing this conversation later for reason other than why Dean wanted to continue it, "Does she want our help."

"I think she's so used to trying to make it alone now that Brie's gone," Seth replied, "that she's uncomfortable with the idea of asking for or accepting help."

It would perhaps surprise some, but Dean and Roman understood, "The Authority _does _have a way of fucking with you…" Dean conceded.

Roman nodded, "She probably thinks she has to go it alone to protect everyone. She knows the minute someone pisses them off by helping her out, that person is in for a world of hurt."

"That's what I said." Seth replied, forcing himself to stay calm. Nikki Bella and her wellbeing got him ridiculously flustered, "But I told her that we're the perfect solution to her problem because they already hate us. They can't do any worse to us than they already have." Before he could say anymore, his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and frowned, not recognizing the number. Taking the call and placing the phone to his ear, he simply said, "Rollins."

"Hey, Seth, it's Nikki." A timid voice replied.

Excitement exploded in his stomach, "Nikki! I didn't think you'd call this soon."

"Yeah…" Nikki admitted, "I didn't think I would either. But… That offer. I want to take you guys up on it."

"You do?" Seth asked, excitedly. He had been sure that she wouldn't accept without a lot of convincing, but clearly he was wrong.

"I do," Nikki replied. Seth ignored the slight hesitancy in her voice, "And I have an idea for how we should announce it."


	3. Chapter Three

**Bella and the Ninja**

**Summary: **Nikki Bella has been suffering at the merciless hands of Stephanie McMahon and The Authority for weeks. Seth Rollins knows the feeling and offers to help her, but even with The Shield on her side, Nikki worries that The Billion Dollar Princess will be the end of her. The architect of The Shield doesn't plan on letting that happen.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything. It sucks.

**A/N: **Thank you so much to _clarembees, Sammie94, Shaq Gaddy, AshJovillette, ramenreingss, Dante 101, flowersNfreaks, DarkenedAngel365, xgirl67, GottaLoveReiding, Smart Mark,_ _Guest,_ _anon, _and _brittany08forever_! I can't express how much I appreciate the reviews! Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Another A/N: **Alright, clearly this is going into major deviation mode. While I'm glad that Nikki is being given more to do in the WWE, her heel turn is not going to work in this story, so don't expect any of that.

(-)

It didn't feel so much like butterflies that were flapping around in Nikki's stomach; they were more like ostriches trying to fight their way through her skin like the chestbuster in _Alien._ She felt sick to her stomach, but didn't regret taking Seth, Roman, and Dean up on their offer. After allowing the idea to sit in her brain for a while, Nikki was relieved to finally have some help. She didn't regret not letting her friends help –she still didn't want Stephanie to hurt any of them for helping her- but she was glad to have some back up, especially backup that knew how to deal with The Authority.

That didn't change the fact that she was nervous, though. She knew that Stephanie would be incensed, especially if she actually said all the things she wanted to say. What could Stephanie do, though, that she already hadn't. Fire her? Stephanie wasn't going to do that. She wanted to make people suffer. The only reason Brie would have been fired if she hadn't quit was because Stephanie wanted Daniel to suffer. Stephanie wanted to break people; to torture them until she was good and done. She wasn't done with Nikki yet. This time, it was Brie who was meant to suffer and Stephanie wasn't going to let up any time soon.

Raw was fast approaching; Nikki only had three hours until she needed to head to the arena. The closer it became, the harder the ostriches in her gut flapped, flailed, and fought. A small voice in the back of her brain told her that she should reconsider; that teaming with The Shield would only make things worse and that she should back out while she still had the chance. But she knew that backing out wasn't a viable option. As proud as Nikki was, and as adamant as she had been to deal with Stephanie alone, she was even prouder of that fact that could finally admit that she needed help. She had to keep reminding herself that Stephanie and The Authority weren't going away any time soon and she couldn't take all of them on by herself.

Nikki tried to calm her nerves and relax before heading to Raw, but nothing she did worked. She tried to watch a movie, but couldn't sit still longer than five minutes to actually enjoy it. She tried to take a bubble bath, but the very idea became wholly unappealing even before she poured the bubbles in the water. She tried to do a light work-out in her hotel room, but she couldn't focus enough to do the exercises properly.

"Damn it…" Nikki murmured as she paced back and forth across the room. This was ridiculous. How was this any harder than what she had already been put through? How was finally standing up for herself any harder than letting Stephanie and her army of asshats beat her up night after night and coming back for more?

This was not the first time since agreeing to let The Shield help her that Nikki felt conflicted. It had occurred quite a lot –more than Nikki was willing to admit, even to herself- but each time she'd pulled herself back to reality, reminding herself that things couldn't be much worse than they already were. Groaning, Nikki moved to plop down on the couch, but a knock on the door stopped her.

"Dear God, what now?" Nikki mumbled to herself, stalking over to the door and looking through the peephole. A small smile formed on her face of its own volition. She should have known who it was; when in the last week had been anybody else? Not that she was complaining. If someone had told her even two weeks ago that she would enjoy spending time with the members of The Shield, she would have laughed in their faces. Surprisingly enough, she found that they were really awesome guys and she truly liked being around them. Opening the door, her smile still on her face, Nikki said, "Hey Seth. What's up?"

"Not much. Just checking to see how you were." Seth replied, his face alight with sincerity. Nikki ignored the nagging voice in the back of her mind that pointed out that Seth always seemed happy to see her; that he had a smile permanently plastered on his face whenever they spoke. She mentally chastised herself; his smile probably had nothing to with her. Just because she had seen him smile more in the last week than she ever had before, it didn't mean that he was smiling more; they were just spending more time together. They had agreed to move past their one-time tryst and work together as partners and, shockingly enough, something that closely resembled friends.

_Get over yourself, Nicole!_ She admonished, _Seth Rollins' happiness does not revolve around you… _"I'm alright." She replied. Stepping slightly out of the way, she added, "Come on in." Seth nodded and entered the room. Nikki closed the door behind him and made her way back to the couch.

Seth could tell that she wasn't being entirely truthful, "What's up?" He asked worriedly.

Running her hand through her hair, Nikki sighed, "I'm just… working to get into the right mindset for tonight." She confessed, "I know that this is the right thing to do, but I've spent so long just trying to get by, actually doing something about Stephanie and The Authority is… admittedly, a little scary."

Seth nodded, "I understand, I really do. I mean, Dean, Rom, and I… We knew what we were getting into. We knew that when we turned on The Authority, once we wised up to what they were really all about, that they would go after us. You couldn't have had any idea that you would become a target like you have. But we've got your back now. We're here to help you."

Nikki sighed, "I know… and I couldn't thank you enough. I wish it didn't have to come to this, though."

"Nobody ever wants it to come to something like this. But there is nothing you could have done." Seth replied soothingly, "There is no way you could have prepared for this, but there is also no way that it could get any better without doing something about it. Just taking her abuse isn't going to make it stop. Stephanie's evil and vindictive. That entire family is off their collective nut. They don't care about anyone but themselves, not even each other."

"I know." Nikki conceded, "And I've known all along, despite not wanting to admit it, that I wouldn't be able to hold her off by myself for long. I just didn't want anyone else being hurt like I was."

"Which is why this is the perfect solution." Seth replied. Nikki nodded. Having The Shield, who were already in The Authorities crosshairs and knew how to deal with them, helping her out was literally the only solution that Nikki could think of.

"And, again, thank you." Nikki said, "I'll be fine. I can do this. I _have _to do this. Not just for me, but for my sister and Daniel. They aren't here to stick up for themselves and if I don't stick up for them, who will?"

"Well…" Seth sighed, "I don't know how they feel about _us_ sticking up for them, given everything…" He trailed off. Nikki nodded; she knew what he meant. She'd quickly learned that Dean, Seth, and Roman felt incredibly guilty about all the things they'd done for The Authority and, though they hadn't said it out loud, she was fairly certain that helping her was part of the atonement that they felt compelled to seek. That didn't mean she didn't appreciate it, "but… here we are. Sticking up for them. Sticking up for a lot of people, actually. Fighting injustice and all that."

A gentle laugh escaped Nikki's mouth (and it most certainly did _not _send flutters, the likes of which he had never experienced before, through the architect of The Shield's stomach) as she rolled her eyes at him. Only he would make a joke about the very foundation of what his brotherhood stood for. Actually, it must be a 'Shield' thing. Nikki had been surprised, maybe more than she should have been having seen most of their promo work, by how funny they all were. They had perfect chemistry and balance; it still shocked her that they had started off feuding so severely during their time in FCW and NXT. It made sense; they were competitors with no reason to be friends. She couldn't help but wonder what changed, though. How had they become so close?

That was not a question Nikki was willing to ask, however. She was sure that it was intensely personal and she had no place asking, "So…" Seth began, attempting to ignore the _completely non-existent_ fluttering in his stomach, "What were you doing to get into the right mindset for tonight?"

"Movie, bubble bath, workout… I can't stick to one thing. I can't stick to anything. I've been too restless." Nikki admitted sheepishly.

She was surprised when Seth merely shrugged, "I'd be amazed if you weren't. It's not easy what you're going to do. But don't let it get to you. That's what Stephanie wants. That's what The Authority does. They get into your head so that you can't focus. Personal experience, remember?" Nikki nodded sadly; she couldn't stop thinking about what Seth had told her. It must have been horrible for him, having The Authority actively working to turn him against Dean and Roman. Even with everything that The Authority had put her through, she couldn't imagine how awful they had been to Seth, "But you have to move past it. And I know you can."

"Thank you, Seth," Nikki replied with a smile. Without thinking, she leaned over and hugged him around the neck. She didn't register how rigid he became at the touch, before finally relaxing and returning the hug, "I mean it," She continued after pulling away, "I may be stubborn and prideful, but I'm not stupid. I know that I literally couldn't do this without you three. Thank you for offering to help."

"The pleasure is all ours, Nikki." Seth said sincerely, "I promise you that."

(-)

Seth left Nikki's room about forty five minutes later. They'd spent the whole time reexamining their game plan, which Nikki was very proud of if she did say so herself. From the time he left her room until she made the announcement, she would have no contact with The Shield, as to not give them away. It sucked; while she knew they had her back, she would have liked to have them there with her the whole time, supporting her. _Damn it, Nicole, relax! You can do this without them for a few hours. Get your shit together, woman, you're starting to set women's rights back a few centuries! _

Nattie and Naomi welcomed her back enthusiastically, despite the exceptionally minor nature of her time off. Given that her friends were training or working house shows most of her five days off, they'd rarely seen each other and her clandestine planning with The Shield had taken up most of the time that any of them had outside of work. It was hard not to tell them about her plans. They were her friends and she knew that they would be unsure of her working with The Shield. She hoped that they would understand when all was said and done. At least it would be easier than the inevitable conversation she would have to have with Brie and Daniel. That one was _really _going to suck.

"You sure you're okay?" Naomi asked Nikki as they changed into their attire for the evening. Nikki, by some miracle, didn't have match planned at the moment. She was sure that would change, but for now she was focusing on what she needed to do, "You haven't worked much in the last week."

Smiling good-naturedly, Nikki said, "I'm not going to forget years of training in a week, Naomi." Naomi gave her a friendly shove, "But thank you. I'll be fine. Maybe Stephanie will decide to go easy on me tonight," Naomi and Nattie both stared at her, eyebrows raised in shock, "Sorry… Bad joke. Not going to happen, but… I've realized that I can't keep letting her destroy my life."

"Does this mean that you're _finally _going to take us, or any of the other girls for that matter, up on our offer to help out during your matches?" Nattie asked seriously.

"No," Nikki replied bluntly, causing the momentarily elated expressions on Nattie's and Naomi's faces to fall, "I care far too much about any of you to intentionally put you in Stephanie's sights."

"We're willing to do it, Nikki," Nattie countered, "We know the risks."

"No," Nikki repeated, "You all have so much going for you and I don't want to ruin any of that. I love you girls, but just trust me when I say I have a plan." Nattie and Naomi grumbled but eventually conceded, "Thank you." She said before turning back to change. A small smile formed on her face as she thought about the next hour. She had informed the WWE that she wanted to address Stephanie during Raw and they had happily accommodated her. Maybe a bit too happily? Nikki wasn't going to think about it. She wasn't even going to think about how the commentating team would undoubtedly be hyping her address up. She didn't need that; she had enough on her plate without that kind of pressure.

Nikki stuck mostly to herself for the majority of the night. She was too busy going over everything in her head, while trying simultaneously to not psych herself out. Checking herself over in a mirror one last time, Nikki took a deep breath. She smoothed a hand over her hair, tugged the hem of her tight sapphire blue dress down to her knees, and adjusted the halter straps so that they sat evenly across her shoulders. Putting on a cheery expression, Nikki headed towards the ring.

A bubble of nerves built in her chest as she made her approach, but she kept her smile on her face. She knew that the cameras were following her and that the whole WWE universe would be speculating about what she planned to do. There was no way she could let them see her nerves. Stephanie would latch onto it with a vice grip and try to exploit it. Nikki knew that she had to say what she needed to say before Stephanie got a chance to do that.

Practically bounding through the curtain at the sound of her music, Nikki smiled and waved to the crowd enthusiastically. They were cheering for her, screaming her name… It made her smile even harder. She high-fived several fans as she descended the ramp; at the end of the ramp, a little girl who couldn't have been older than ten clutched onto her outstretched hand and refused to let go. Leaning over, Nikki hugged the girl, "You're the best, Nikki." She said, making tears form in Nikki's eyes. She suppressed them and with a gentle squeeze to the girl's arm, Nikki pulled away and continued on to the ring. Besides feeling the need to stick around for WWE for her sister and Daniel, she also did it for the fans. Sure, there were those fans that still thought that because she and Brie hadn't slummed it in the indies for years before joining WWE that they weren't as good as the ones who did, and they were allowed their opinion. But for those fans that cheered for them, who were proud of how far they had come and how hard they worked… She couldn't let them down either. Nikki couldn't let them think that someone like Stephanie McMahon should be allowed to treat people the way that she did just because she was the principal owner of WWE.

Standing in the ring, Nikki lifted the microphone given to her by one of the ringside attendants to her lips, "As you all know, I am out here because I would like to address Stephanie McMahon. Stephanie, would you please join me in the ring?" She asked sweetly.

A moment later, Stephanie's music sounded and she entered the arena, a smug look just barely covering the confusion she felt. If Nikki hadn't known Stephanie as well as she did, she might have missed it. Nikki felt an eyebrow raise as Stephanie made her way down to the ring, followed closely by Triple H, Randy Orton, and Kane. Since when had Stephanie needed them to follow her around like this? What was she expecting that she would make them come with her? Nikki refused to let her shock show too much. Stephanie wasn't allowed to get into her head anymore.

"Wow, Stephanie… I wasn't expecting this big of a party," She said, still smiling. Stephanie merely smirked and shrugged, "Oh well," Nikki said cheerfully, "The more the merrier, right?" Stephanie gave her a wary look; she shouldn't be this cheery and Stephanie knew it, "Look Stephanie, I just… I wanted to let you know that you've given me a lot to think about."

"And what have you been thinking about, Nikki?" Stephanie asked, somewhat condescendingly.

Nikki pretended she didn't notice, "I've been thinking a lot about what you've been saying these past weeks. About how all these matches, all the beatings I've endured were because of Brie." The smug look on Stephanie's face grew even bigger; good, that's what Nikki wanted, "I couldn't help but think, '_Stephanie's making a lot of sense'._" A loud booing echoed through the arena, but Nikki knew she had to ignore it, "I mean, Brie left. She left for Daniel without even thinking of how it would affect me."

Smiling and seemingly relieved, Stephanie exclaimed, "Nikki, I am so glad that you understand the real reason being everything that's been happening… I mean, I knew you were smart and would get it."

Nikki smiled back, "I just needed to let you and the whole WWE universe know what's been on my mind. I just couldn't keep it in anymore. I mean, she left. She left because of Daniel. She slapped you _across the face,_" The arena erupted into cheers; Stephanie was clearly not amused, "and then left, leaving me to take on the fallout."

"Of course she did!" Stephanie proclaimed, "She's selfish. She's always been selfish; putting her own wants before your needs."

"Like I said, Stephanie, you've given a lot to think about." Nikki said, "I had to look inside my own heart and mind and ask myself _'Did Brie abandon me?'_… And I came up with an answer." She was less than a foot from Stephanie's smug, smiling face, "And that answer is…_ HELL NO!" _Stephanie's face dropped in horror as the crowed screamed and cheered, "Everything that's been happening, all the hell I've been through… It hasn't been Brie's fault. It hasn't been my fault. It's been yours!"

Stephanie began screaming, but Nikki was far too riled up to let her get a word in edgewise, "You call yourself the Billionaire Baroness, but you're not." She continued, pulling back slightly, having the foresight to understand how close to Stephanie's fists she was in case the older woman decided to start swinging, "You know what I see, Stephanie? I still see an over-entitled Princess. I see a whinny, pathetic, vindictive brat who doesn't like to be told no."

"How dare you!" Stephanie shouted, her microphone having been thrown to the ground at some point. Triple H and Kane were holding her back, but Nikki wasn't going to be intimidated anymore.

"You don't understand what family is really about, Stephanie." Nikki spat, "Brie and I have fought and argued. Hell, we've fought in this very ring, but she is still my sister, she always will be, and I will love her no matter what. The true bonds of family aren't so easily broken that an evil, malicious woman like you could tear us apart." Stephanie fought to get away from her husband, but Nikki just glared at her, "You don't understand what a family really is, Stephanie. Look at everything the McMahon family has done to each other! Your own father practically sold you to the Ministry of Darkness. He choked you nearly to unconsciousness with a lead pipe in an 'I Quit' match! How many times have you and your mother slapped each other in front of the WWE universe? You lied to your husband and told him that you were pregnant to save your sham of a marriage and he called you a no good, lying bitch and left you at the alter… And somehow years later you're still married… Married again… Who the hell knows? You're not a family; you're a freak show. "

"I'll kill you!" Stephanie wailed, trying to pull even harder away from Triple H. He actually looked ready to let her go after the jibe Nikki had shot at him.

Chuckling, Nikki continued, "You know, you look really tough with those big, burly men of yours holding you back. But, guess what, Stephanie? I have big, burly men of my own!" She laughed at Stephanie's attempts to get to her. Her words were lost momentarily until Randy, Triple H, and Kane felt solid masses collide with their bodies. As Seth, Roman, and Dean knocked the male members of The Authority around, Nikki took her chance and snatched Stephanie by the hair and dropped down, forcing Stephanie's face into the mat.

Nikki glared daggers at Stephanie's prone body as her guys (and she totally wouldn't tell them that she'd begun calling them that in her head) Triple-Powerbombed Triple H, effectively finishing off the last standing member of The Authority. An unfamiliar maniacal glee was erupting in her chest as she watched Stephanie struggle to move, still dazed and sluggish. King, Michael Cole, and JBL ever so slightly permeated her vengeful haze with their shocked commentary; King and Michael praising her actions, JBL calling it the biggest mistake of her life. Maybe it was, but for now… It just felt _so damn good. _

A hand lay gently on her shoulder, pulling her from her reverie. She smiled up at Seth, nodding affirmatively when he asked if she was okay. Leaning over, she wrapped her arms around his chest in a grateful hug, which Seth gladly received. After a moment, Nikki pulled away and gave a similar hug to Roman. He wrapped his large arms around her and lifted her up in a gentle bear hug, beaming at her with that sexy-without-knowing-he's-being-sexy smirk. She chuckled as he squeezed her carefully. When she was back on the ground and out of Roman's grasp, she approached Dean and held her arms out. He gazed at her warily, but she raised her eyebrows and beckoned him forward. Grimacing somewhat, he slowly slid into her arms and allowed her to wrap them around him. He cringed when she unexpectedly planted a kiss on his cheek, muttering as he pulled away and tried to wipe the red lipstick from his skin.

Roman jumped out of the ring first, Seth and Dean (while still trying to clean his face) parting the bottom two ropes so that Nikki could more easily get through them in her heels and dress. When she was safely through the ropes, Roman gripped her around the waist and carefully brought her from the ring apron to the floor. Dean and Seth quickly followed and the four made their way back up the ramp.

Nikki's cheeks hurt, she was smiling so much but she couldn't stop. Weeks of pain and anger had been released and seeing Stephanie and the rest of The Authority laid out in the ring, barely moving, gave her so much relief that she couldn't put it into words. She wrapped her arms around Seth and Roman's waists as they walked backwards towards the curtains, laughing as Stephanie glared evilly at her, having finally come to enough to comprehend what happened. She hadn't planned on an all-out brawl, but Stephanie bringing all of The Authority with her had necessitated that. Not that Nikki was complaining.

With one last look at her tormentor, Nikki turned and made her way backstage with The Shield. She had made the impact she was looking to make; nothing could have gone better. She would have a lot of people asking questions, but she didn't care. Now Stephanie knew that she wouldn't take her abuse lying down. All in all, the night couldn't have gone more perfectly if she planned it that way and she had The Shield to thank for it.

(-)

**A/N Number Three: **Sorry this took so long! I've been trying to work on it for ages, but I've been super busy and in all of that I got sick and all-in-all was feeling terribly uninspired every time I sat down to write. I'm super glad I've finally managed to finish it up. It works out perfectly because today is my birthday and nothing makes me happier than getting a new chapter up, so this is my present to myself. I hope you all enjoy!


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